Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen fan view: Barry Robson’s rapid transformation at Pittodrie is barely believable

A 2-0 win against Kilmarnock gave the Dons a fifth consecutive victory.

Aberdeen boss Barry Robson on the touchline with Kilmarnock (and former Dons) manager Derek McInnes. Image: Shutterstock
Aberdeen boss Barry Robson on the touchline with Kilmarnock (and former Dons) manager Derek McInnes. Image: Shutterstock

August 2015. Derek McInnes prepares to throw the veteran wiles of Barry Robson into the last few minutes at Firhill and close down a 2-0 victory, extending Aberdeen’s 100% Premiership start to five matches.

Fast forward eight years and it is Robson, those playing days now long behind him, applying that guile to overcome his former boss and complete his own five-game league winning streak: the first recorded by any Dons manager since that explosive opening to 2015/16 eventually topped out at a remarkable eight.

So this is not just better than what came immediately before in the chaotic early days of 2023; it is better than anything from the last few seasons. As job auditions go, it is becoming hard to ignore.

He has required help from Hearts’ unforeseen collapse, but that Robson has led his team into third place at this stage is barely believable.

It should not be forgotten that, when he was asked to step into the fire a mere ten weeks ago, Aberdeen were outside the top half and arithmetically closer to bottom spot than third.

Aberdeen’s Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes celebrates scoring to make it 1-0 with his teammates. Image: SNS.

It is not a given that a club drastically falling short of its targets will experience such a turnaround solely by ditching a manager whose tenure had become untenably undermined.

With apologies to the newest member of the Pittodrie coaching staff, replacing the failed leader of a shellshocked squad with an enthusiastic gilet-wearer from the training ground is not in itself a guarantee that an unforeseen slump will be arrested.

It takes some substance to build anything recognisable out of the rubble left at his feet.

As his showreel grows Robson is building himself greater and greater employment security for next season – the only question to be answered is whether it is at his current workplace or elsewhere.

Conversation